By Collin Ross
Every Christian is called to participate in the kingdom of God. From the very beginning, God has worked to establish His kingdom on the earth, and from the very beginning, He has chosen to do so through His people. When the time came, the Father sent the Son to be with us, and through the Son, God won victory over sin and death and established His kingdom with His people through Jesus. That same Jesus commissioned His followers to carry on His redemptive mission in the world, proclaiming the good news that life in God’s Kingdom is available now to all who believe.
So I’ll say it again: every Christian is called to participate in the kingdom of God. But let’s be honest for a moment. Following Jesus is hard, and it is even sometimes risky. If you’ve ever tried to live according to the teachings of Jesus in our modern world for any length of time, you know exactly what I am talking about. It is not easy to forgive as we have been forgiven. It is not easy to give sacrificially and put the needs of others above our own. And it is not easy to talk about Jesus with our unbelieving friends and family.
If you are like me, you simply don’t feel qualified for any of this. But we can’t leave it to the “professional” Christians because as we’ve just said, every Christian is called to participate in the kingdom of God. So what is it going to take to feel some measure of confidence in this calling?
This is why the story of Joshua is so significant. Joshua was the guy who took over after Moses. Can you imagine the shoes he had to fill? If anyone can relate to our feelings of weakness, it’s Joshua.
But then we listen to the words of the Lord as He comforted his child, “Be strong and courageous…Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6,9). Three times the Lord urged Joshua to be strong and courageous. But what was the source of his courage? It was not in Joshua’s ability or talents but rather the Lord’s presence with him. It was the Lord’s presence that would secure Joshua’s victory.
We are not sent out in our own self-sufficiency. We are sent out with the presence of God. Because our God is with us, we have everything we need to participate and flourish in His kingdom. We must take our calling seriously. But equally as important, we must remember that God never sends us to do the work alone. He is with us every step of the way.
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